MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

Going into the Big Brother house might be a slightly demeaning thing to do, but surely its worse for a minister of the crown to be wasting his time talking about a joke made on the programme? Indeed, you'd hope that biodiversity minister Jim Knight had better things to worry about than whether Pete Burns is wearning a gorilla-skin coat or not. Yes, wearing fur is repellent, but to rush out a statement because Burns pretended his coat was made from gorillas suggests a slight lack of perspective down at the biodiversity ministry:

"Gorilla skins belong on gorillas, not on reality TV show contestants.

Fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw is expected to issue a similar condemnation of Pete Burns today, as "trout lips belong on trouts, not on reality TV contestants.

The first set of nominations for eviction from the house (Big Brother, not the Commons): Pete, Jodie Marsh and George Galloway are the potential targets. Does anyone know why Oona King's phone has been engaged all day?

Meanwhile, Jim McCabe's been in touch with details of a surprising face circling on the wilder edges of Big Brother punditry:

Simon, just a note to alert you to Paul Morley's latest bid for the chavs' cheers. Fresh from his act of supplication before St. Bono, he is now appearing on one of the E4 shows devoted to Celebrity Big Brother. He appears (billed as a "popular culture legend") with Jade Goodey ("Big Brother Legend"). The show is hosted by a guy who looks like Tiny Tim on acid, with an Essex accent.
Laugh? I nearly downloaded a Texas track.

It's a sad state of affairs when your caption is vaguer than the one for Jade Goodey, isn't it?

Earlier: George Galloway gets some kip

music big brother pete burns george galloway paul morley